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England should build their side around Adam Lallana

Pep Guardiola was watching on, flat-capped in Anfield’s VIP stand on a personal scouting mission ahead of Manchester City’s visit on New Year’s Eve. He would not have been required to scribble any notes to remember who makes Liverpool tick. The highest compliment you can pay Adam Lallana is he is the closest England has to Andres Iniesta.

Adam Lallana once again showed how important he is to LiverpoolCredit:
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Obviously comparing any Englishman to a player of such class will prompt ridicule – especially when that line is condensed to 140 characters on social media (inevitable) – but Lallana sees the game in the same idealistic way. You would pay money just to see his first touch and he keeps the ball moving in the right direction. So much of the focus in this Liverpool team is about Philippe Coutinho, but Lallana is so integral it’s a surprise he is not similarly linked with La Liga’s giants. He not only equalised here, he ran the game before being rested for the exertions ahead.

New Liverpool are superior to old Liverpool

Stoke started with Peter Crouch, Joe Allen and Glen Johnson, and also had Charlie Adam on the bench. You could be mistaken for thinking the Liverpool Masters side had come to town. Sadly for Johnson, it was his assist that enabled Liverpool to recover from their tough start. For long periods it looked like the old boys were proving a point, especially as Allen kept picking up the second balls and routinely nutmegging his former team-mates.

Stoke had taken a deserved lead through Jonathan WaltersCredit:
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Jon Walters’ header from Erik Pieters’ cross gave Stoke what was at the time a deserved lead, and only Simon Mignolet’s legs prevented Allen doubling it before Liverpool woke up. There are few more industrious or likeable strikers than Crouch, but in the twilight of his career it seems he has become a horse for a course. He may not start many games nowadays, but we will probably see him selected at Anfield next season, too.

Liverpool are the great entertainers of 2016

Liverpool may not have played the most consistent football of 2016, but they have been the most entertaining in England over the last 12 months. They play in bursts, but when they hit their stride the opposition wilts. So it was for Stoke, who found themselves getting hammered without doing much wrong. The problem for Liverpool is they are approaching the halfway stage still trailing Chelsea having been punished for the kind of careless mistakes (specifically at Burnley and Bournemouth) that Antonio Conte’s have not made.

Roberto Firmino was on target for the dominant hostsCredit:
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Those anomalies may yet cost Liverpool – and the early goal they conceded here was a reminder as to why their rivals remain encouraged Jurgen Klopp’s side won’t last the pace. While Klopp’s record in the marquee games is impressive it is fixtures such as this that still evoke a sense of mistrust, which is what makes the manner Liverpool recovered their composure and worked their way through Stoke an example of how much improvement there has been over 12 months.

Man of the match - Adam Lallana

There were numerous contenders, with Roberto Firmino and the underrated efficiency of Georginio Wijnaldum catching the eye. But it has to be Lallana. It was during the period when Stoke had control that Lallana demanded the ball and dragged his side forward. His equaliser shifted momentum.

Lallana deserved the plauditsCredit:
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What Liverpool must do next

Working overtime to get Coutinho fit would be a start. Despite the emphatic nature of this win,there were moments you felt something was missing compared to the early season form. Then you remember the Brazilian isn’t around and know what exactly what - or who - it is. There is still plenty of attacking enterprise in there, Divock Origi looking sharper with every match and Roberto Firmino continuing to threaten to become a 20-goal a season man - and Daniel Sturridge must be the most talented sub in Europe - but the sight of Coutinho back in tandem with Lallana will elevate Liverpool’s game to even greater heights.

Coutinho is key to LiverpoolCredit:
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What Stoke must do next

Stoke will be where Stoke always are, respectably in mid-table, occasionally bloodying the nose of the aristocrats and feeling a grudge that no-one is giving them enough credit for being an expertly run club, with consistent expertise on their coaching staff. Mark Hughes is hugely underrated too. This was Stoke at their most physical, but with Bojan, Afellay and Shaqiri to call upon they will have a different face next week. They’ll be fine.